It is somewhat appropriate that this band shares their name with a brand of dental veneers. Go see one of their live shows and it will become obvious why. Just check out the giant grins plastered across the faces of the audience members. The Lumineers play stompy-clappy roots Americana that just can't help but pick you up and carry you along. You may recognize The Lumineers from their appearance on my 2011 picks with their song Ho Hey (special thanks to Fuel/Friends for the recording). That happened to be a soft pick for 2011 since they had not released an actual album in 2011, but the song was just too good to not include, considering how many plays it had in iTunes on my computer. Now they have finally released a full-length album, just a few months too late. I can imagine I'll find a few tracks to include on next year's list though.
Here is the studio recording of Ho Hey from the album.
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
They really manage to capture the same live feel to it. Impressive.
They often manage to sound a bit like Mumford & Sons, likely due to the lead singer's tendency to stomp a kick-drum while strumming out his songs. There's only so many ways to play kick-drum, I suppose. Check out Classy Girls, which starts out slow blue-grass and flips into a rollicking stomp-clap number, complete with kick-drum, halfway through.
The Lumineers - Classy Girls
In Big Parade, the pattern is reversed with the kick-drum keeping steady-time through most of the beginning of the song before dropping out briefly towards the end before coming back in at the end for a big finish with the same shouted back-up vocals we heard in Ho Hey.
The Lumineers - Big Parade
They change things up quite a bit with Slow it Down, a heart-rending ballad strummed out on echo-laden electric guitar. The aching vocals are a perfect counterpoint to the insistent electric guitar. I love how the emotion and pace ramps up towards the end.
The Lumineers - Slow It Down
I'll close with a great impromptu performance of the lead off track Flowers In Your Hair played in the stairwell of the Bar Bar Bus Bus of Portland, Oregon.
Out now from Dualtone Music Group. Buy it here.
For fans of: The Head & The Heart, Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Campfire OK.
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